When Merck Mercuriadis launched Hipgnosis Songs Fund on to the London stock market, the music mogul promised investors dependable and durable returns by capitalising on the revolution in monetising music that had been brought about by the explosion in streaming. Five years on, the fund’s attempt to establish music publishing rights as a trusted asset class is floundering.
Now Hipgnosis is trying to convince shareholders to approve a deal that would offload roughly a fifth of its portfolio to a rival owned by Blackstone, the private equity firm. The songbooks would net the FTSE 250 constituent $440 million, which it plans to use to pay back $250 million of debt, with the rest used to buy back $180 million in shares. It is a part
